A FEW WORDS ABOUT AN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: SIPO EDITION

For a last few months, we’ve talked a lot about European Union, but also about the intellectual property. We started quite a few series on our social media accounts.

One of them was about SIPO.

In today’s world, intellectual property protection is essential for businesses and individuals alike to ensure that their ideas and creations are protected and respected.

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of the Republic of Croatia is the public body established for the purpose of protecting intellectual property rights. It carries out procedures for granting industrial property rights and oversees copyright and related rights collective management associations. It is also responsible for the professional and legislative activity in fields of industrial property rights, copyright, and related rights.

Copyright protection in Croatia is regulated by the Copyright and Related Rights Act and the European Union’s legal framework. This Act provides protection to performers in their performances, phonogram producers in their phonograms, audiovisual producers in their videograms, broadcasting organisations in their programme signals, publishers of press publications in their press publications, producers of non-original databases in their non-original databases, and publishers of written editions.

In addition to copyright protection, the State Intellectual Property Office is responsible for the granting of patent and trademark protection.

A patent is a right granted for an invention that offers a new solution to a technical problem, and usually relates to a specific product, process, or use.

A patent is acquired by the recognition of a right by the authorised body for granting that right (in the Republic of Croatia, it is the State Intellectual Property Office), on the basis of an examination of the patent application describing the invention.

Patent protection is an effective business tool that enables its holders (owners) to return the funds invested in research and development of new products and technologies, through a kind of monopoly on the use of a protected technical solution during the term of patent protection.

A trademark application has to be filed on Ž-1 Form and has to be supported by the evidence on payment of the prescribed procedural costs. The protection requirements and the whole procedure concerning an application are prescribed by the Trademarks Act and the Trademarks Regulation.

Before filing an application a good thing would be to carry out a similarity search of earlier trademarks, as to avoid unnecessary problems.

A very useful advisory assistance before filing your application, professional conduct of procedure before the Office, as well as and subsequent representation in possible administrative and court proceedings, is offered by professional representatives in the field of industrial property, whom you may engage to work on your behalf and for your account.

The protection requirements and the whole procedure to be carried out in respect of the industrial design application are prescribed by the Industrial Design Act and the Regulations on Industrial Designs. The application shall be filed on the D-1 and D-2 Forms.

With regard to the fact that one of the main requirements for the protection of an industrial design is its novelty, the registration procedure is to be initiated before the product has been put into circulation or before the design, which is the subject matter of protection has been made available to the public otherwise.

The application has to contain, in addition to the indications concerning the applicant, the designer and other prescribed indications, a photography or a graphical representation of a design to be protected.

After filing a correct application, SIPO carries out a prescribed procedure of examination of the requirements for the industrial design protection. If all the prescribed requirements for the registration are complied with, a decision on the registration of the industrial design is issued and the data concerning the industrial design are published in SIPO official gazette.

We’re preparing some interesting themes for you within our “Keep up”.

So, you know what to do - stay tuned!

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